“By Faith…”

Hebrews 11

The 11th chapter of Hebrews is known as the hall of faith. Like a hall of fame, it chronicles some of the champions of God’s story in scripture. These are the people who shaped the world. These are the people who God used to mark His purpose and carry forward His mission. The phrase “by faith” appears 19 times in this chapter. I encourage you to read it—it’s at the bottom of today’s reading.

Worth noting, this list of hall of “faithers” is made solely of a group of sinners. Every person in this list is broken, fallen, and less than God’s standard. Every single one. Some of them are scoundrels and cheats. Some of them are murders. These people showed a lack of faith, they lacked self control, and they tried to do things their own way. None of them accomplished their great feats because of their ability and their resistance to sinful ways. They only made the impact they did because of faith.

So what is faith? The beginning of Hebrews defines it as “the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is trust. It is belief. It is confidence. It is a rock-solid foundation upon which a life can be built. It is all these things and more.

And, according to Hebrews 11, it is the force that has allowed God’s people to grab ahold of God’s movement through the years. It is only by faith that these people have stories worth telling. It is by faith that God’s purposes have been fulfilled through these mixed up and messed up people.

Let me be clear, it is not a result of faith that God has been successful. God’s purpose is accomplished because he is the Lord and He will get his way. However, the people mentioned in this chapter were invited to be a part of the story. They made the cast of God’s divine drama. And they only did this by faith. Not because they were talented enough. Not because they were holy enough. Not because their past was blemish free. Not because they had some great idea or some moment of triumph. No, They were invited into God’s work. And they lived it… by faith.

The same is true for you. You are invited into the divine drama. You have a standing invitation to be a part of what God is doing here and now. The next chapter is constantly unfolding. And the Lord is always on the lookout for the next group of hall of faithers. You don’t make that list by some herculean effort. You don’t carry forward the next paragraph of God’s rescue mission because of your holiness. It isn’t your memory of scripture; your ability to sing on tune; or your flawless personality. The way you participate in this continuously unfolding story is solely by faith.

It is about trusting the Lord and living boldly out His word. It is putting your money where your mouth is when it comes to the Word of God. It is a constant willingness to search for where God is working and join Him. Daily. Living by faith is a step into the scary and the unknown. Living by faith is tuning your heart to the almighty and putting one foot in front of another. Stepping into this week, by faith, is growing to trust God’s word over the voices and messages of this world.

By faith is the only way anything has ever been accomplished in God’s work when humans have been involved. And, for some reason, it is the preferred method of God’s ongoing care and redemption on this world. He continues to wait until us to take steps of deep faith to move forward.

Truth be told, faith is one of my spiritual gifts. If you’ve ever done one of those spiritual gift inventories, it tells you what gifting you have from the Holy Spirit. Faith has always been and “easy” thing for me. By that—I believe deeply in Jesus and His word. I believe deeply in His presence and leading. It isn’t something I do—it is a gift that was given to me. And yet, believing in Jesus and walking forward boldly in faith is not easy. Even for a guy who has the gift of faith—stepping each step towards the unknown with a conviction about things I cannot see—that’s hard. Really hard.

This is why, for 19 times, Hebrews 11 tells us that all the ways God has worked through people—it has only and always been accomplished by faith. To stir and inspire us. To motivate and empower us.

By faith. With the Holy Spirit leading and guiding. Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I, along with so many others, have always loved this verse. Today, I encourage you to join me in taking one step, by faith, along the Jesus Way. He will continue to lead and guide you. Walk in the strength of His name and the confidence of His presence.

By faith. One step at a time.

Hebrews 11

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:1–40

Who’s in your personal hall of faith?